


Fear.

by Noblegas Xenon (NoblegasXenon)



Series: There's A Traitor In the Midst [4]
Category: Lego - All Media Types, Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen, Punishment Closet, actually the first time too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 12:31:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14308689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoblegasXenon/pseuds/Noblegas%20Xenon
Summary: Actions lead to wrongs.





	Fear.

He wandered the halls of the temple. Just looking around, it felt like everything was empty. His master was likely meditating and knowing him, he couldn’t interrupt. Ronin doesn’t know where to go, or what to do. 

So he opens random doors, checking inside to see if they have anything of interest to him. Most were empty, filled with nothing but storage. He coughs up dust from most of the rooms and he slams the doors, often on accident. But they creak and wheeze from the state of their time. 

It was old, it's always been to Ronin. He heard and felt every piece of wood creak. How the building still stood, he didn’t understand. Opening another latch to a door hidden away in the back, he was surprised at what he found.

Sunlight streaming through windows, bookshelves scattered but placed like dominos. He saw that each were filled with books, stacked to the ends of every wall. Ronin closes the door behind him and looks around farther. There’s a section in the far right corner used for lounging.

Dusty chairs covered with vibrantly patterned cushions surrounded a blackwood coffee table. He heads for the center and finds a larger table with taller chairs. Ronin quickly finds himself loving the room. 

Heading for the first set of shelves, he checks for the genre. There isn’t much, it seemed. The only biggest distinctions were the labels of Fiction and non-fiction scattered around. The main thing was the disorganization with books randomly placed in an order but not the same. It’s a bit of a mess, he thinks and he grabs several books at a time and tries his best at putting it back to together.

Breathless from the dust, he still felt a shine of happiness. Books were always a haven. They weren’t- Hard to come by but it was a time where Ronin never really got the choice to relax. And it had only been a short time with his new master before he started tearing into his heart.

It was a different kind of attack but it seemed to be just as effective as what had been the last. He couldn’t guess who last did them but his mind would provide glimpses every once in a while. It was.. Confusing with what he had forgotten from his past. It seemed like he should’ve remembered completely but leaving made that null.

Yet he knows, he knows that he should’ve felt safe here but he doesn’t. It’s not safe, because instead of caring for him truly as the caretaker did in Stiix. Wu blamed him for incidents he never knew, called him evil with every step. Worthless, evil, a danger, it was all that was repeated to him.

He didn’t think he could protest. Not with how Wu used his authority. But it was also becoming background noise, static from the distances of his mind. Ronin puts his mind off the situation and glanced through the books.

He’s looking for something specific. Something like the book he’d gotten once from a dream. Collections of myths, of stories that described the world in a perspective of an assumption. But even so, it felt that they really could’ve happened. There were threads that seemed to connect them to the real world. Threads that seemed influence every action of the world around him. Ronin couldn’t explain it, but it seemed.. Right as it was.

They weren’t other worlds but apart of this one. Smaller chunks to the biggest piece. It was a puzzle, with so many pieces scattered about.  It wasn’t likely that he would find them all. But the thought nonetheless was nice.

He ends up grabbing several books, all that were next to each other. The books only fit one story and he had to hold back disappoint. He leaves the section and goes to sit down in middle of the room. The covers don’t tell much but he finds them to be what he’s looking for.

For a moment he wonders if he should leave, he doesn’t know how long he’s been there. But he changes his mind and begins to read. Taking his mind off of everything and letting time fly by. 

The first book was somber. A story about a war between two tribes. It’s been going on for several hundred years, every new generation taking control. But then two boys start to secretly meet up. At first to talk of mundane things, complaining over nagging authorities and then slowly planning a rebellion. A side against both. They found it annoying, the ongoing war. They wanted to do something about it.

They plan for ten long months until it was time. Quick and precise, they strike at the heart of the problem. Their own parents, but the confrontation itself wasn’t smooth and many people were injured. The boys are weakened, unable to go any farther. But they try and try. Only, it causes them to lose everything and the two shells of influence were broken.

Nothing was the same anymore. Buildings held marks of destruction and people were killed. The two boys, they weren’t dead but very very close. One feels regret, the other wishes to create more. It’s already a disaster to say the least. And the disagreement causes the chaotic one to vanish.

Some would call it a good thing, others not so as the result of him leaving is crumbling towers and a missing fuse to light the world. Every person was a component and they had forgotten that in their war. Their society is left crumbling, until they were simply nothing more then history. This was their consequence and everyone fell for one man leaving.

The door slams open, scaring Ronin and instinctively he grabs his books hiding them somewhere between his arms and his clothes. He hopes none of them are seen but he’s never certain anymore. Ronin looks up and sees Wu. He freezes still hiding the books.

“Slacking off?” The older man says. Ronin grips the books tighter to himself. “I see you found the library. I do hope you haven’t touched any of them.”

He shook his head but his mouth felt dry under the looming threat. Wu beckons Ronin forward and he walks to him.

“Put those books back, I can tell you’re hiding some.” Ronin nods and moves again to put them back. Back where he last placed them. He wants to come back to the room and make it a safe haven. 

The next moment, he finds himself being dragged by the arm. Ronin struggles under his grip as they head farther and farther from the library. Fear takes over but he can’t do anything. They reach the nearest closet- His room and his fears keep increasing as Wu grabbed his neck and doesn’t quite throw him in but it wasn’t gentle either. The door closes and immediately, Ronin felt panic. 

He runs to the door, banging on it and yelling but no one answers. Ronin starts trying to turn the handle finding it locked. His cries only grow louder and louder. He could wish and hope he would be freed. But it just seemed unlikely.

He didn’t know what to do. Ronin felt he couldn’t stay put but he was locked there with nothing else. So instead, he curled up crumbling like a dry leaf. Time passes and his stomach growls, he hasn’t had anything to eat since breakfast. 

He tries to open the door again but the results are the same. He nearly cries, coming so close. He ends up laying on the ground, his boredom mixing with sad hopelessness. Time continues shifting their sands with Ronin still in the middle. He doesn’t know how long he’ll last. He doesn’t know if he can.

He ends up falling into a dreamless sleep. Every moment spend in the darkness of the closet he just watched the walls. Ronin couldn’t tell what he did wrong. He closes his eyes again, a low sigh escaping his lips.

Ronin woke up to the door unlocking and he stands up immediately. His joints creak and he feels pain creeping on him but he doesn’t care. It was godsend to him that he even got a chance to leave. It was frightening being alone with his thoughts. And even worse when he had nothing else. Wu was in front of him and his aura still missing. He’s blocking the way so the boy could only wait.

Finally Wu moves to the side, giving him an exit and he takes it quickly. He almost runs if it weren’t for his fear holding him back. 

“So you won’t be doing that again, will you?” Wu asks, his tone demanding. Ronin stops and nods, his fears still there. Wu doesn’t respond for a moment.

“I’m letting you go just this once. It’ll be worse for you if you don’t.” Ronin nods again. Just the small interval of silence later and Ronin runs. He keeps going until he’s outside and stops by a wall. Leaning against it, he silently holds his breath. Trying to keep himself from crying. 

To an extent it works, but his breathing feels cut off and every gasp is almost a sob. Ronin slides to the stony floor and curls up. He should eat but he didn’t feel like doing that. Instead he just stayed there.

He didn’t think it would get worse. But it had, and did he have a choice in not taking them? He didn’t think so. He felt in that moment that the forces were against him. He didn’t know why and he wasn’t going to get answers. 

So he’ll have to suffer through it. Whether he broke first or died. He had to keep going. He had to stay as strong as he could, even if he was ceramic. Eventually he gets up again and heads back inside. He still had to do what he could to survive.


End file.
